November 1, 2024 • 7 mins
Sarasota's Lido Beach reopens Saturday (2nd) for the first time since Hurricane Milton. Parking will be limited because of sandpiles and visitors are urged to use the free trolley service from downtown Sarasota. We speak with City of Sarasota Parks and Recreation Director Jerry Fogle to find out what they had to do to get Lido Beach ready, and what visitors need to know.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Gordon Bird here with Beyond the News the ongoing story
of hurricane recovery. Another beach is open on the west
coast of Florida for the first time since Hurricane Milton.
Liedo Beach and the City of Sarasota Jerry Fogel is
Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Sarasota,
to talk about it, he joins us now on Beyond
the News. Jerry Fogel, Welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you so much, Gordon. I appreciate you having me here.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
And we appreciate the herculean work that you and your
staff have put into getting this beach back open again
after Hurricane Milton. We know that Liedo was very close
to where Milton made landfall. Tell us about what the
beach suffered during Milton, and I'm sure at that point
you may still have been recovering from any impact from Helene.
(00:46):
What have you had to do to make Liedo Beach
ready for visitors?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Well, Gordon, first and foremost, you know, my heart thoughts
and prayers goes out to all those that are affected
by not only Milton, but at Debbie, Helleen and then Milton.
So obviously those storms have been devastating We have an
amazing community and I know they've been supporting those devastated
by those storms, and I know we'll continue to do so.
(01:13):
So that's first and foremost on my mind. Secondarily, we
have sixty one parks and recreational facilities that almost all
were affected along with Lido Beach, and so with the
beach being one of our biggest obviously amenities for the
city and beyond, we wanted to focus on getting that open.
(01:34):
There was a tremendous amount of sand that was that
was put in the parking lot. Public Works helped us
to kind of maneuver the sand, so we fip up
some parking spots so we can open up the parking lot.
Then we actually had to address access points that were
destroyed during the storm, so we went and did that.
(01:56):
Last couple of days, we addressed those access points UH
and then there's a couple of walkovers that we will
be finishing up today to make everything pretty much safe
and secure. One of the other items that we had
was the concession pavilion concessions that had the door blown
off the hinges UH and it's one of those still
(02:19):
solid doors and it was just blown off the hinges
along with the window that was blown out to we
replaced the door. We have plywood for the window until
we get the window in which we've ordered. Uh So,
we we've cleaned up everything. We pressure, what's it all.
We cleaned the restrooms up. The Shepherd Vardy who's a
(02:39):
concession near there, he's super excited, as you can imagine,
his team has not worked since Helene. Uh So he's
so happy to be able to get back, get them back,
be able to serve our public. And so we're we're
really really excited. We couldn't have done this though without
Public Works. They've been an amazing, amazing health to work
(03:00):
with US Parks and Recreation to really get this open
and make this just open over the weekend, which is great.
One other item Don'd like to mention is the Cole Rizzler.
She is the Parks and Recreation director for the county.
We have an innerlocal agreement the city and county does
and they maintained the beach and operate the beach. So
(03:22):
they helped greatly. They went out and they raked the
entire beach. It's beautiful, it looks gorgeous right now. So
they assisted us with doing that they actually get an
inspection of the entire beach to make sure there's no
debris that washed up or you know, flew off off
someone house or something of that nature on the beach.
So they did a full on inspection of the beach
(03:43):
to make sure it's safe as of right now after today,
I don't believe there should be any really safety items
out there that I'm aware of. I think we've addressed
all those items. So other than limited parking, because there
will still be saying there there will be limited parking
as far as the beach goos. So please take the trolley.
(04:06):
That's what it's for, so hopefully they'll be able to
do that to keep down the traffic with the vehicles.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
And if you're visiting from another city, if you could
fill us in about your trolley service that goes out
Toledo Beach and where people can access.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
That and so the trolley you can pick that up
throughout the city basically and be able to go transverse
Toledo which drops you off right in front of the
Alito Pavilion concessions, which is fabulous because you can go
and grab a bite to e relax underneneath the pavilion
which has a canopy structure too, and then a head
(04:42):
to the beach and enjoy the beach. So it's amazing, Mandy.
The city offers a ton of people. Take it. It's
really cool. You can just set back and relax. You
don't have to worry about driving and the traffic and
the stress of that. So I would definitely highly recommend.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
That you mentioned that the walkovers are back in place.
How are the dunes? Did the dunes? I don't recall
the layout there, but I assume there are some dunes
going out to the beach. Do they suffer any extensive damage?
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Not significant? I mean there's some washouts and stuff, so
we're going to put some sand back to level it
out a little bit, but it wasn't significant damage to
the dunes.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
What else should people know if they're planning to go
out to Liedo Beach this weekend.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Well, just really and truly, you know, just keep in
mind that they're limited parking, so keep that in mind. Also,
just make sure that with the big sand pal that's
there to watch your kids and make sure they don't
go anywhere near that pal, And make sure you know
when you're when you're parking. You know, just be as
(05:53):
careful as possible because people kind of get stressed and
agitated because of the limited parking it. So I just
want to make sure people come out and enjoy themselves.
Everything is pretty much addressed as far as safety issues goes.
We have plenty of restrooms, We've got the concessions open,
so enjoy yourself with your family. But like I said,
(06:13):
please be mindful that there will be limited parking. And
I know people get really upset if they come out
and they can't find a parking spot. So that's why
we're harping on the trolley. Take the trolley. There are
some additional parking. I believe the garage is open, so
I believe there is additional parking there that people could
park there. So hopefully, that to me is the only
(06:37):
kind of challenge that we have. Other than that, the
beach is fully open, fully operational, and everyone can come
out and enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Now there are some signs up and barricades up telling
you where not to go as well, and I understand
there are still some issues at North Lido and South
Liedo at this time.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Yeah. Correct, So North Lido is really more a wooded area.
Off the beach, if you will. And it really and
truly had a bunch of trees that got knocked down,
and so we're going to keep that closed for now.
It's going to take a little bit more time to
get that portion open. South Lido is county maintained and operated,
(07:17):
so the county is currently working on that to get
that open. So they're they're working diligently and I'm sure
they'll get that opening in their future.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Well, again, kudos to your staff are working so hard
to get that beach open, and it's open, going to
be open on Saturday and available for people to enjoy again,
and one more step toward getting back to something resembling
normal here along the west coast of Florida. Jerry Fogel
is Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Sarasota.
(07:48):
Mister Fogel, thank you again for joining us on Beyond
the News.
Gordon Bird here with Beyond the News the ongoing story
of hurricane recovery. Another beach is open on the west
coast of Florida for the first time since Hurricane Milton.
Liedo Beach and the City of Sarasota Jerry Fogel is
Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Sarasota,
to talk about it, he joins us now on Beyond
the News. Jerry Fogel, Welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you so much, Gordon. I appreciate you having me here.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
And we appreciate the herculean work that you and your
staff have put into getting this beach back open again
after Hurricane Milton. We know that Liedo was very close
to where Milton made landfall. Tell us about what the
beach suffered during Milton, and I'm sure at that point
you may still have been recovering from any impact from Helene.
(00:46):
What have you had to do to make Liedo Beach
ready for visitors?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Well, Gordon, first and foremost, you know, my heart thoughts
and prayers goes out to all those that are affected
by not only Milton, but at Debbie, Helleen and then Milton.
So obviously those storms have been devastating We have an
amazing community and I know they've been supporting those devastated
by those storms, and I know we'll continue to do so.
(01:13):
So that's first and foremost on my mind. Secondarily, we
have sixty one parks and recreational facilities that almost all
were affected along with Lido Beach, and so with the
beach being one of our biggest obviously amenities for the
city and beyond, we wanted to focus on getting that open.
(01:34):
There was a tremendous amount of sand that was that
was put in the parking lot. Public Works helped us
to kind of maneuver the sand, so we fip up
some parking spots so we can open up the parking lot.
Then we actually had to address access points that were
destroyed during the storm, so we went and did that.
(01:56):
Last couple of days, we addressed those access points UH
and then there's a couple of walkovers that we will
be finishing up today to make everything pretty much safe
and secure. One of the other items that we had
was the concession pavilion concessions that had the door blown
off the hinges UH and it's one of those still
(02:19):
solid doors and it was just blown off the hinges
along with the window that was blown out to we
replaced the door. We have plywood for the window until
we get the window in which we've ordered. Uh So,
we we've cleaned up everything. We pressure, what's it all.
We cleaned the restrooms up. The Shepherd Vardy who's a
(02:39):
concession near there, he's super excited, as you can imagine,
his team has not worked since Helene. Uh So he's
so happy to be able to get back, get them back,
be able to serve our public. And so we're we're
really really excited. We couldn't have done this though without
Public Works. They've been an amazing, amazing health to work
(03:00):
with US Parks and Recreation to really get this open
and make this just open over the weekend, which is great.
One other item Don'd like to mention is the Cole Rizzler.
She is the Parks and Recreation director for the county.
We have an innerlocal agreement the city and county does
and they maintained the beach and operate the beach. So
(03:22):
they helped greatly. They went out and they raked the
entire beach. It's beautiful, it looks gorgeous right now. So
they assisted us with doing that they actually get an
inspection of the entire beach to make sure there's no
debris that washed up or you know, flew off off
someone house or something of that nature on the beach.
So they did a full on inspection of the beach
(03:43):
to make sure it's safe as of right now after today,
I don't believe there should be any really safety items
out there that I'm aware of. I think we've addressed
all those items. So other than limited parking, because there
will still be saying there there will be limited parking
as far as the beach goos. So please take the trolley.
(04:06):
That's what it's for, so hopefully they'll be able to
do that to keep down the traffic with the vehicles.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
And if you're visiting from another city, if you could
fill us in about your trolley service that goes out
Toledo Beach and where people can access.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
That and so the trolley you can pick that up
throughout the city basically and be able to go transverse
Toledo which drops you off right in front of the
Alito Pavilion concessions, which is fabulous because you can go
and grab a bite to e relax underneneath the pavilion
which has a canopy structure too, and then a head
(04:42):
to the beach and enjoy the beach. So it's amazing, Mandy.
The city offers a ton of people. Take it. It's
really cool. You can just set back and relax. You
don't have to worry about driving and the traffic and
the stress of that. So I would definitely highly recommend.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
That you mentioned that the walkovers are back in place.
How are the dunes? Did the dunes? I don't recall
the layout there, but I assume there are some dunes
going out to the beach. Do they suffer any extensive damage?
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Not significant? I mean there's some washouts and stuff, so
we're going to put some sand back to level it
out a little bit, but it wasn't significant damage to
the dunes.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
What else should people know if they're planning to go
out to Liedo Beach this weekend.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Well, just really and truly, you know, just keep in
mind that they're limited parking, so keep that in mind. Also,
just make sure that with the big sand pal that's
there to watch your kids and make sure they don't
go anywhere near that pal, And make sure you know
when you're when you're parking. You know, just be as
(05:53):
careful as possible because people kind of get stressed and
agitated because of the limited parking it. So I just
want to make sure people come out and enjoy themselves.
Everything is pretty much addressed as far as safety issues goes.
We have plenty of restrooms, We've got the concessions open,
so enjoy yourself with your family. But like I said,
(06:13):
please be mindful that there will be limited parking. And
I know people get really upset if they come out
and they can't find a parking spot. So that's why
we're harping on the trolley. Take the trolley. There are
some additional parking. I believe the garage is open, so
I believe there is additional parking there that people could
park there. So hopefully, that to me is the only
(06:37):
kind of challenge that we have. Other than that, the
beach is fully open, fully operational, and everyone can come
out and enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Now there are some signs up and barricades up telling
you where not to go as well, and I understand
there are still some issues at North Lido and South
Liedo at this time.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Yeah. Correct, So North Lido is really more a wooded area.
Off the beach, if you will. And it really and
truly had a bunch of trees that got knocked down,
and so we're going to keep that closed for now.
It's going to take a little bit more time to
get that portion open. South Lido is county maintained and operated,
(07:17):
so the county is currently working on that to get
that open. So they're they're working diligently and I'm sure
they'll get that opening in their future.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Well, again, kudos to your staff are working so hard
to get that beach open, and it's open, going to
be open on Saturday and available for people to enjoy again,
and one more step toward getting back to something resembling
normal here along the west coast of Florida. Jerry Fogel
is Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Sarasota.
(07:48):
Mister Fogel, thank you again for joining us on Beyond
the News.
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